Midwest Meetings Minutes

NBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

THE MIDWEST CLINIC, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MCCORMICK PLACE CC23 BC WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2021 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM PRESIDENT REBECCA PHILLIPS, PRESIDING

President Rebecca Phillips called the meeting to order at 10:45 am.

Members in attendance: Rebecca Phillips (President), Randall Coleman (First Vice-President), Matt Temple (Second Vice-President), Scott Tobias (Immediate Past President), and Linda R. Moorhouse (Executive Secretary-Treasurer).

NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest: Matt McCutchen reported there were 41 submissions for this year’s contest and the committee had selected a winner that would be announced at Thursday afternoon’s General Membership Meeting. He then asked if he could announce a runnerup, given the committee’s enthusiasm for recognizing the composer and their work, due to the age and experience of the composer. The Executive Committee agreed.

NBA Clinic Presentation: President Phillips remarked everything should be set for the upcoming clinic at 12:15 pm in W-176 with the past presidents, The NBA at 60: The Past, Present, and Future of the National Band Association (NBA Past President Panel).

NEW BUSINESS:

New Constitution Amendment: Randall Coleman shared that he received a proposal from the Nominating Committee of past presidents regarding a revision of the First and Second Vice-President titles and a revision of the Second Vice-President’s appointment. The proposal recommended future presidents of the organization have experience as an officer in the organization for at least four years. This would better prepare a future President, ensuring ample working knowledge of the history, projects, activities, and financial obligations of the organization. The proposal states: “Change the title of First Vice President to President-Elect; change the title of 2nd Vice President to Vice President, who automatically ascends to President-Elect.” If approved by the Board and membership, this change would begin with the 2022 election of the next Second Vice President (Vice President).

Discussion ensued and it was decided to bring the proposed amendment to the Thursday morning Board of Directors Meeting for their approval.

NBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

THE MIDWEST CLINIC, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS HYATT REGENCY BALLROOM A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021 9:00 AM - 10:45 AM PRESIDENT REBECCA PHILLIPS, PRESIDING

President Rebecca Phillips called the meeting to order at 9:00 am. She then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

Members in attendance: Chip De Stefano (Elementary/Middle/Junior High School Representative), Tracy Leslie (Elementary/Middle/ Junior High School Representative), Susan Waters (Elementary/Middle/Junior High School Representative), Travis Coakley (High School Representative), Kristy Dell (High School Representative), Chad Kamei (High School Representative), Arris Golden (CollegeUniversity Representative), Shelby Chipman (At-Large Representative), Gary Gribble (At-Large Representative), David Vandewalker (AtLarge Representative), Craig Aarhus (At-Large Representative), Lt. Col. Daniel Toven (Military Bands Representative), Michael BurchPesses (Community Band Representative), Steve Trull (Music Industry Representative), Myra Rhoden (Programs of Excellence Chair), Cody Birdwell (Selective Music List-Concert Band), Jason Fettig (Selective Music List-Marches), Wolson Gustama (Foster Project), Matt Talbert (Research Chair/NBA Journal), Andrew Yozviak (Eastern Division Chair), Corey Spurlin (Southern Division Chair), Mark Heidel (North Central Division), Diane Koutsulis (Western/Northwestern Division Co-Chair), John Miller (Western/Northwestern Division Co-Chair), Rebecca Phillips (President), Randall Coleman (First Vice-President), Matt Temple (Second Vice-President), Scott Tobias (Immediate Past President), and Linda R. Moorhouse (Executive Secretary-Treasurer).

Membership Report: Linda Moorhouse reported that despite the pandemic, membership is up this year and was at 2337 members as of December 11. See the full report in the NBA Journal.

Financial Report: Linda Moorhouse reported as of November 30 there is a balance of $72,761.41 in the NBA bank account. This balance includes at least half of the anticipated Midwest Clinic 2021 expenses. NBA Foundation: With a recent gift of $50,000 from Gladys Wright, the Foundation account has $61,887.87. Sue Creasap reported were some changes on the Foundation Board. The new Board consists of Susan Creasap, Chairman (VA), Gary Schallert, Vice Chairman (KY), Joe Allison, Director (KY), Cody Birdwell, Director (KY), Linda Moorhouse, Director (IL), and Scott Tobias, Director (WV). Al and Gladys Wright Distinguished Legacy Award: Scott Tobias reported that the 2020 and first recipient of this award, Col. Hal Gibson, was presented with the award at a recent concert in Melbourne, Florida. The award is made possible by a $50,000 gift from Gladys Wright. This year’s recipient(s) will be announced this afternoon at the NBA General Membership Meeting.

AWAPA Commission: Craig Kirchhoff (elected in 2019) and Loras Schissel (elected in 2020) will be honored this afternoon and presented the AWAPA materials at the General Membership Meeting. AWAPA Chair Richard Floyd will also announce the 2021 recipient at that time.

Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors: President Phillips stated there will be an announcement this afternoon at the General Membership Meeting of the newest elected member(s) to the Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors.

Other NBA Awards: In the absence of Heath Nails, Randall Coleman presented a brief report on the award activity of our NBA certificates from August 2020 until now. A number of certificates have been given this year including the Citation of Excellence, Certificate of Marching Excellence, Outstanding Musician Award, Outstanding Jazz Musician Award, and Band Booster Award. See the full Awards Report in the NBA Journal.

Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award: Myron Rhoden reported that we paused this program this past year given the pandemic and the effect it has had on many band programs across the country. We will restart the award for this year. This past fall, the Executive Committee decided to recognize all past Division Winners who were not National Winners by sending them plaques in recognition of their achievement and efforts in participating with the program.

NBA Young Jazz Composers Composition Contest: President Phillips reported that while there were submissions for this year, the selection committee did not find a piece that was suitable, so a winner was not chosen. The University of Florida Bands have agreed to continue to sponsor this contest by providing a $1,000 check to the winner.

NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest: Matt McCutchen reported there were 41 submissions for the 2021 contest, which is 11 more than 2020. The winner will be announced at the General Membership Meeting this afternoon. He also announced there was a runner-up for this contest and that person will also be recognized at this afternoon’s meeting.

2022 Composition Contests: President Phillips reminded the membership that next year we will be reviewing submissions for the Merrill Jones and Young Band Composition Contests as these are biennial contests. She added that we are now working with JW Pepper to have them identify all of our contest winners on their website.

Community Bands: Michael Burch-Pesses reported that many bands went into hiatus this last year because of the pandemic and a lack of rehearsal spaces, which are mostly in public schools. Bands are started to rehearse more frequently now. See his full report in the NBA Journal.

Corporate Relations: Gary Smith is continuing to strengthen relationships with our corporate members, while finding new ones as well. The pandemic affected many companies financially, and we recognize it will take a while for many to get back to where they were a few years ago.

D-Day All American Band: Randall Coleman reported that this project was moved forward to 2023 because of the pandemic. This national honor band will be part of the D-Day celebrations in France in the summer of 2023. This band is the reinvention of the All-American Marching Band that appeared at the San Antonio Bowl a few years ago. Historic Programs is the company behind this project.

William P. Foster Project: Wolson Gustama reported that six individuals will be recognized as Foster Community Development Division Winners this afternoon at the General Membership Meeting, in addition to a special reception this evening. They are Trent Cooper, Dekaney High School (retired), Spring, TX (Southwestern Division); Heather Taylor, Lakeshore Elementary School, Rochester, NY (Eastern Division); Don Stinson, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, IL (North Central Division); Dr. Ollie Liddell, Memphis Central High School, Memphis, TN (Southern Division); Victor de los Santos, Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, CA (Western Division); and Jennifer Brooks, David Douglas High School, Gresham, OR (Northwestern Division).

Division and State Report: Randall Coleman remarked there was much activity with NBA members this past year despite the pandemic. The Board then heard brief Division reports from John Miller (membership increase), Andrew Yozviak (visibility increase), Corey Spurlin (upcoming conference and rehearsal clinic activity), and Mark Heidel (upcoming conference, increased membership, and monthly Zoom meetings). President Phillips thanked the Division Chairs for their work this year. See the full report of Division and State activity in the NBA Journal.

IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness) Committee: Arris Golden reported the committee met several times this year to review compositions in our Selective Music List. The committee also joined with members of the Selective Music List committee to listen to a presentation by Dr. Constance McKoy on authenticity and inauthenticity in music.

Military-Professional Bands: Daniel Toven shared that the annual reports are still coming in from the military bands. He remarked that military ensembles are trying to retain and exploit what they learned in the virtual world. Within the Army bands, they continue to try to remain competitive, however, three of its bands will be inactivated (Korea, Japan and Alaska). 2022 represents the centennial of Pershing’s Own (U.S. Army Band) and they are organizing the Hundred Schools Challenge as part of their centennial. The Army Band is committed to establishing connections with at least 100 schools with whom they will share their time and talents. Also, the U.S. Army Chorus is reorganizing its choir from a low voice TTBB choir to a SATB choir. See his full report in the NBA Journal on other activities this past year.

Music Industry: Steve Trull reported that our music industry has suffered greatly the last two years. While companies are slowly returning to normal business activity, we need to support our vendors and be patient while this happens.

Music Research: Matt Talbert called for peer-review research for the NBA Journal.

“Need a Mentor” Project: Scott Tobias reported on behalf of Sue Creasap. The NBA “Need a Mentor” Project continues to provide mentors for educators at all phases of their careers with the most requests coming from first year teachers. Most mentees are seeking advice on issues common to all band directors: recruitment, advocacy, classroom management, programming suggestions, survival in the rural/urban school, fund raising, etc. We have had 44 requests for mentors since 2018. Sue suggested we might want to consider making short videos; “it may be that having an easily accessible resource where a calm, smiling face reassures the exasperated young educator with some quick fixes. At the end of the video, we remind them that they can request a mentor.”

Nominating Committee: Scott Tobias reported that the Nominating Committee has created a ballot for the 2022 election and that Linda Moorhouse will be reaching out to those on the ballot to see if they are willing to run for a position on the Board of Directors.

Selective Concert Music List: Cody Birdwell reported his committee has met and they are still working on the list revisions.

Selective March Music List: Jason Fettig reported the list was edited to delete errors, duplications, and titles that did not need to be on the list. New marches were also added. His committee is going to take another look at the list this spring with the IDEA committee to make sure it better represents the values of NBA.

Social Media: Craig Aarhus reported our Facebook page has 7,600 followers and since 2019, we added 1300 new followers. We have reached close to 500,000 people. The Teaching Tips on our Facebook page are very popular; these include small tidbits on management strategy, instruments, etc. He plans to promote the upcoming regional conferences in the Southern and North Central Divisions. He is also looking for other to help gather and create content to upload to the Facebook page.

Young Conductor/Young Composer Mentor Project: Linda Moorhouse reported the project was moved from the summer of 2021 to the summer of 2022 because of the pandemic. It will be held June 12-15 in Washington, D.C. with the United States Air Force Band, Col. Don Schofield, commander and conductor. Rehearsals will be held on Bolling Air Force Base. Mentor composers are Mark Camphouse, Viet Cuong, and Tom Duffy. Mentor Conductors are Scott Tobias, Rebecca Phillips, Don Schofield, and Linda Moorhouse. Application materials are posted on the NBA website.

OLD BUSINESS

60th Anniversary Reception: President Phillips reminded everyone of the 4:00 pm General Membership Meeting and the 60th Anniversary Gala Reception to follow at 5:00 pm.

New Booth Design: President Phillips shared that our new design was created by Nash McCutchen. You can view the new booth in the exhibit area, booth #825.

New Pin Design: Linda Moorhouse shared that we are working on a new pin design with Bale Company and are reviewing final designs at this time. We hope to incorporate the current pin into a new design.

Project Grants and Booth Requests: Matt Temple reported nine Project Grant proposals were submitted and six were approved. There have been seven Booth requests that are under consideration at this time.

Research Grants: Matt Talbert reported there were no Research Grant proposals were submitted this year.

NEW BUSINESS

NBA Journal: Matt Talbert asked the Board for assistance in seeking peer-reviewed research articles for the NBA Journal.

CBDNA/NBA Southern Division and North Central Division Conferences: Corey Spurlin and Mark Heidel reported NBA will have representation at both conferences. Two ensembles have been selected to perform at the North Central conference (Lockport Township High School, Brian Covey, director and McCracken Middle School, Chip De Stefano, director) and four ensembles have been selected to perform at the Southern conference (Florence Chapel Middle School, Spartanburg SC, Alicia Crutchlow, director; Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL, Ted Shistle, director; H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, FL, Brian Dell, director; and Wando High School, Mt. Pleasant, SC, Bobby Lambert, director).

New Constitution Amendment: Randall Coleman shared with the Board that the Executive Committee received a proposal from the Nominating Committee of past presidents regarding a revision of the First and Second Vice-President titles and a revision of the Second Vice-President’s appointment. The proposal recommended future presidents of the organization have experience as an officer in the organization for at least four years. This would better prepare a future President, ensuring ample working knowledge of the history, projects, activities, and financial obligations of the organization. The proposal states: “Change the title of First Vice President to President-Elect; change the title of 2nd Vice President to Vice President, who automatically ascends to President-Elect.” If approved by the Board and membership, this change would begin with the 2022 election of the next Second Vice-President (Vice President).

A brief discussion ensued and then a motion was made and seconded to adopt the proposed amendment. The motion passed unanimously and will now be brought to the membership for a vote of approval this spring.

NBA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

THE MIDWEST CLINIC, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MCCORMICK PLACE PRAIRIE ROOM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM PRESIDENT REBECCA PHILLIPS, PRESIDING

President Rebecca Phillips called the meeting to order and then introduced the past presidents in attendance.

Membership Report: Linda Moorhouse reported that despite the pandemic, membership has increased this year and was at 2337 members as of December 11.

Financial Report: Linda Moorhouse reported as of November 30 there is a balance of $72,761.41 in the NBA bank account and there is $61,887.87 in the NBA Foundation.

William P. Foster Project: Wolson Gustama announced the division winners of the Foster Community Development award and asked them to come forward to accept a plaque on behalf of the Music Education Alliance (NBA/CBDNA/Music for All). Trent Cooper, Dekaney High School (retired), Spring, TX (Southwestern Division); Heather Taylor, Lakeshore Elementary School, Rochester, NY (Eastern Division); Don Stinson, Joliet Central High School, Joliet, IL (North Central Division); Dr. Ollie Liddell, Memphis Central High School, Memphis, TN (Southern Division); Victor de los Santos, Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, CA (Western Division); and Jennifer Brooks, David Douglas High School, Gresham, OR (Northwestern Division).

CBDNA/NBA Southern Division and North Central Division Conferences: Corey Spurlin and Mark Heidel reported NBA will have representation at both of these biennial regional conferences. Two ensembles have been selected to perform at the North Central conference (Lockport Township High School, Brian Covey, director and McCracken Middle School, Chip De Stefano, director) and four ensembles were selected to perform at the Southern conference (Florence Chapel Middle School, Spartanburg SC, Alicia Crutchlow,

director; Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL, Ted Shistle, director; H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, FL, Brian Dell, director; and Wando High School, Mt. Pleasant, SC, Bobby Lambert, director).

Young Conductor/Young Composer Mentor Project: Linda Moorhouse reported the project was moved from the summer of 2021 to the summer of 2022 because of the pandemic. It will be held in Washington, D.C. with the United States Air Force Band, Col. Don Schofield, commander and conductor. Dates are June 12-15 and rehearsals will be held on Bolling Air Force Base. Mentor composers are Mark Camphouse, Viet Cuong, and Tom Duffy. Mentor Conductors are Scott Tobias, Rebecca Phillips, Don Schofield, and Linda Moorhouse. Application materials are posted on the NBA website.

Upcoming Projects: Randall Coleman reported the Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award is up and running for this year, and the biennial Merrill Jones and Young Band Competition Contests will be held next year as well. The D-Day All-American Band project will take place in the summer of 2023. This band is the reinvention of the All-American Marching Band that appeared at the San Antonio Bowl a few years ago. 125 high school musicians will be selected from across the country for this inaugural All-American D-Day Band. Col. (ret.) Timothy J. Holtan will serve as music director and will conduct the band for D-Day events in the Normandy region of France.

NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest: Matt McCutchen reported there were 41 submissions for the 2021 contest, 11 more than 2020. The 2021 winner is Frank Ticheli for Lux Perpetua, a work composed for the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two young clarinetists who lost their lives in an automobile accident in 2014. McCutchen also announced a runner-up, Lindsay Bronnenkant for Tarot. Lindsay is currently at DMA student at Eastman working on a degree in Wind Conducting; this was her first work for wind band.

NBA 60th Anniversary Commission: Scott Tobias introduced James David, the composer who was commissioned to write a work for NBA’s 60th Anniversary. David’s work, Urban Light, was premiered on Wednesday at the Midwest Clinic evening by the U.S. Army Field Band with Eugene Corporan, conducting.

Al and Gladys Wright Distinguished Legacy Award: Scott Tobias reported that the 2020, and first recipient of this award, Col. (ret.) Hal Gibson, was honored with the award at a recent concert in Melbourne, Florida. The award is made possible by a $50,000 gift from Gladys Wright. Tobias then announced the 2021 recipients: Roy Holder and Julian White. They will be presented with the award at a future date in 2022. Gladys Wright then announced she plans to give the NBA Foundation another substantial gift this next year.

AWAPA Commission: Craig Kirchhoff (elected in 2019) and Loras Schissel (elected in 2020) were honored at the General Membership Meeting. AWAPA Chair Richard Floyd presented Kirchhoff with the AWAPA materials; Schissel was unable to attend. Floyd then announced that the person elected to the Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts for the year 2021 is recording engineer Bruce Leek. Leek will be presented with the AWAPA materials this next year in 2022.

Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors: Thomas Fraschillo announced that we have three distinguished band directors who have been elected to the Hall of Fame: Don Wilcox, Joseph Hermann, and Lowell Graham. A Hall of Fame induction ceremony for all three will take place in the spring of 2022 on the campus of Troy University in Troy, Alabama.

Closing Remarks: President Phillips thanked the membership for a very productive year and all the good work being done by with the membership. She then invited all to stay for a special 60th Anniversary reception in the same room.